Go with friends
Sometimes you go to a place expecting one thing, and get a totally different experience. This was our experience recently with Donna Chang, a beautiful restaurant in the city. The staff here are lovely, the decor is stunning, and the company of people I dined with were incredible.
The food was ok.
Don’t get me wrong. I mean that literally. The food wasn’t bad. At no point did we stop and think, what is this meant to be? All of it was well presented too. Maybe it was because we had the gluten free banquet, and our friends had the vegan one (In a lot of places gluten free means without flavour, or texture, or an ability to go moldy). I think though, it was the audience of the area. None of the food really sang, but it was pleasant.
Ok, that is not quite true.
The dumplings were amazing. Sometimes what you want is simple. This is exactly what they were. Simple, but perfect, parcels of delicate ingredients presented in a wooden boxs. They weren’t presented as, or trying to be, anything other than dumplings. It was my favourite thing of the night.
On the vegan side, there were some deep fried eggplants that also were pretty good. They were light and delicate. There was a pleasant crunch to them, I may have had one and I possibly shouldn’t have. The sauce on them added just enough flavour to compliment the eggplant. The eggplant experience was wonderful.
The rest of the food was good, but I think we were expecting amazing, we had expectations as to what it would be like. We went to GOMA the following week, and the meal there was mediocre for GOMA, but still incredible (look, I acknowledge I may be biased here). The decor, the staff, the crowd, all of this led us to believe we would be blown away. We weren’t though.
We did have a good night, some good conversations, and the coffee wasn’t too bad. There is one thing though that is bubbling away inside of me.
Kimchi.
I have eaten a few different Kimchi’s and, while I am no expert, this was by far the mildest kimchi I have ever eaten. I am pretty sure it was done in the same style, but there was none of that kimchi kick a fan of the Korean side would savour. This has been plaguing me since we went and why I haven’t written anything until now. If you have never had kimchi or anything spicy before, and you want to test the waters, this is probably the kimchi for you. It was pleasant, it was mild, and a little refreshing. These are not the qualities I personally look for in Kimchi. Like my dad, I like my kimchi to hit me with force. I don’t mind crying after I eat kimchi, especially if I eat a whole jar. There was not even a light slap with this. It was more like someone misting you with watermelon.
Look, I know it doesn’t sound like it, but I do recommend going to Donna Chang’s at least once. The staff are great, and the place is wonderful to look at. Go with friends.
That’s it.
This is a place for the company of others, the food doesn’t distract from the conversation, and that is fine. It is easy to talk to people, the attentive staff keep your drinks topped up, and the place has lots of interesting nooks and crannies. If you can afford it, and you want to take someone somewhere to chat while showing off a Brisbane restaurant, I highly recommend this place.
If you want to go somewhere for good food instead, a couple of blocks away there are some really good Korean BBQ places or Thai places.
Eat well, and try everywhere at least once.
I can’t quite end there. If by any chance anyone at Donna Chang’s reads this, I would like to say that even though I found the food a touch boring, I loved the place and the people. The atmosphere is very welcoming and it is always good to see a Brisbane restaurant packed. Well done Donna Chang, I hope you are around for a long time, and thank you for the wonderful service.
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